Download Impact of Cold War

Impact of Cold War
Election of 1948
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I had to put this in since I do not
think we talked about it. So here it
is:
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http://www.270towin.com/1948_Elec
tion/
Impact in General
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Impact of Cold War:
A global issue
 Powerful effects on our economy,
politics, and culture
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Military
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Military implications:
Peacetime draft
 Done to meet military commitments
associated with the Cold War
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Areas we occupied in Axis areas
Missile deployment operations in Europe
Counterinsurgency forced in Third World
Economically
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Military spending increased:
Between 1900-1930, military
spending was less than 1% of GDP
By 1961, that number was 10%
(chart, p. 807)
Industrial
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Arms Race!
Affected all Americans with a climate of
fear and uncertainty
Bomb shelters, civil defense drills, atomic
research testing
Concern over radioactivity of above
ground tests, later found to be a health
issue
Very expensive which bothered Ike who
wanted a balanced budget
Industrial
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1960: Ike tried to negotiate an arms
limitation agreement with the Soviets
May 5, 1960: Soviets shot down an
American U-2 spy plane over their
territory and captured and imprisoned its
pilot
Ike later admitted he authorized the
mission and others like it, and therefore
his chance to negotiate an arms
agreement was gone
Pentagon
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1960: became its own democracy
Federal funds overwrote 90% of the
cost of research on aviation and
space
Subsidized the scientific, auto, and
electronics industries
This allowed for rapid creation of
products
Pentagon
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Created a strong defense industry
Boeing, Lockheed were examples of
companies that did its work almost
exclusively with the Pentagon
People owed their jobs to this
buildup, and many areas of the US
received a lot of money (especially
in the south and west)
Final thoughts
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Drawback: little money was spent
on domestic needs due to amount
going to military
Ike’s last speech: warned of a
“military-industrial complex”
Quotes
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Its influence “is felt in every city,
every statehouse, every office of the
federal government”
“guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether
sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex”
“never let the weight of this
combination endanger our liberties
or democratic processes”